Borrowed Time
by Francesca Montag
Summary: The Tenth Doctor has an unexpected visitor one quiet night it's night somewhere, right? on the Tardis...
1. Chapter 1

_I was going to wait until after my _30 Thoughts _story was done, but I wanted to see what kind of response I would get for this story. I was a bit nervous to post it, to be honest. The Ninth Doctor has a special place in my heart and I wanted to do him some justice in my story. So, I bit the bullet and decided to post it. The story is already written, but I'd be happy to take suggestions if there are any. Hope you like it :) _

_And of course I don't own Doctor Who. I do, however, own books, dvds, a poster and a Regeneration figurine set with the Ninth and Tenth Doctor :)_

_*Tense problems were brought to my attention...if there are anymore, I'm sorry!_

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**Borrowed Time**

Sometimes, the Doctor wished he could sleep. To be able to tumble into nothingness, to pass out for most of the night and wake up looking and feeling refreshed with no memory of the night's worries.

Like a human.

The Doctor sighs into the silence of the deserted hallway of the Tardis. Slowly, he walks down the corridor when he suddenly comes to a stop outside Rose's room. She had left the door open, much to the Doctor's amazement. Rose was always so private. Hesitantly, but not having enough of a will to push himself away, he leans his slender form against the doorway. He smiles down at his slumbering companion, her blond hair fanning on her pillow, her rosy lips smiling mysteriously. The Doctor smiles in response, just as he always does. Just then, Rose turns on her side, facing the doorway. She did it so suddenly that the Doctor thought she had seen him there.

He takes a step closer. "Rose?" he whispers. He's greeted by a gentle snore escaping her slightly open mouth. He chuckles in relief. But now he realizes that he was close enough to touch her, something the Doctor could never resist doing, whether it was him hugging her or touching her arm, he always found a way – subconsciously sometimes…consciously most of the time.

He rarely had this chance, however. To see a still, unknowing Rose was rare to come across. She was always there next to him, smiling up at him or asking question after question that he was always so happy to answer. It made him proud to know that she had wanted to ask questions and not merely be content with standing by watching events pass her by.

How could he let such an opportunity slip through his fingers?

So, the lonely Time Lord steps closer to his loyal friend. The closer he got to her, the more beautiful she became. _Is that even possible_, the Doctor asked himself. As he looked at her fair skin, her pouty pink lips – he knew that in her case, it was. He reaches out, his hand visibly shaky, much to his embarrassment. _Good thing she's asleep_, he thinks. He touches her hair with his fingertips, the slight sensation warming his usually cool skin. He runs his fingers through the golden locks, ultimately reaching the side of her face. Feeling her skin under his touch, he feels the blood rushing to his face. He touches her cheek gingerly with his thumb. Suddenly, he senses the hard thumping of his hearts. The sensation terrifies him and he instantly moves away from Rose, as if she had burned his very core. Trying very much to be quiet, he steps through the doorway, closing it clumsily on his way out into the hall. He slumps his back on the wall opposite her door, dragging in a ragged breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

Unable to register his thoughts and more horrifying, his…_feelings_…he begins to walk briskly to the console room. _What's wrong with me_, he thinks,_ it's only Rose…she's my best mate, my loyal companion…_ Deep inside, a place where he had long since given up on, he knew there was something else…something _more_ there, but he couldn't grasp it, he couldn't let it linger…

Just then, as only a Time Lord could tell, he felt a change in the atmosphere. _Someone is touching my ship_, he accused suddenly. In an instant, he ran down the corridor, reaching the heart of the Tardis quickly. Then he sees him. The Doctor comes to an abrupt stop, almost tripping over nothing in the process. _That's…that's not possible_, he thinks.

"Oh, but you like impossible, remember?" he says.

The Doctor's jaw drops. _No_, is the only thing he can think.

"Oh, yes," says the man with the large ears.

The Doctor tumbles back a step. _You can't be here._

The man in the green jumper and beaten up leather jacket smiles his manic grin, from big ear to big ear.

"And yet I am. How's that, then?" he smirks.

Before the Doctor could think in response, the Ninth Doctor chirps in, "And can you talk out loud, the telepathy is givin' me a headache."

The Doctor, was for once, quite speechless.

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_Thank you for reading :) _

_*Also, take note that this isn't meant to be the end of the story...there will be more chapters up soon..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy!_

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**Borrowed Time**

"WHAT?!" finally yelled the Doctor.

Nine simply smiled, his teeth gleaming. "Now that's more like it," he says.

The Doctor shakes his head, "YOU can't be here. This isn't possible. Did my Tardis merge with yours?" He glares at his former self.

Nine merely grinns as he strolls around the console, edging closer to his future. "Nope," is his reply.

The Doctor lets out an exasperated sigh and runs his fingers through his messy hair. Nine's grin vanishes quickly as he looks enviously at his counterpart. "Oi, that's not fair. Head of hair, you."

It was the Doctor's turn to grin, "Yu_p_," he says, triumphantly popping his p, "it's brilliant."

"Still not ginger though."

"Nope." They both fall into a shared jealous silence.

"So," starts the Doctor, after their shared mourning for their lack of ginger tresses, "you forgot to mention…WHAT are you doing here?"

Nine sighs, a sound all too familiar to the Doctor…it made his skin creep. "I see I still don't know the meaning of PATIENCE. And boy, do you like to run that gob of yours." The Doctor glares at him in reply, waiting for him to begin.

"Look, nothin' bad is happening to time, there's no one to save…hypothetically…" The Doctor arches his eyebrow. "Well, there isn't! Technically…" Nine trails off, absentmindedly stroking the Tardis.

_Oh, I really _did _do that. _

"Yeah, she always noticed that. And I thought I told you not to think at me."

"Sorry." For some reason the mentioning of Rose leaves his hearts stuttering in their beating.

Nine looks on him, pity and something else shining through his eyes.

"She's still with me, isn't she?"

_Technically, she's with_ **me**, he thinks quickly and quite possessively. He chooses to ignore the jealous look that flashes on Nine's face.

"Who?" He can't bring to say her name just now. And for some reason, talking about her with _him _is making him…jealous. He can't understand why…he's the same person…technically…

"You know why it's making you jealous. It's the same reason I always got jealous. And you know who I'm talking about."

The Doctor was getting impatient.

"One last time…WHAT are you doing here?"

Nine stares at him, deeply searching for something he knows is in there. "I'm here…because it's time and because if you don't realize it now, everything would have been for nothing…in a way…and because I didn't get to."

The Doctor stares at him incredulously. "What are you talking about? You're talking like a…"

"…stupid ape?" finishes Nine, smirking.

He frowns. He hadn't used that term in quite awhile.

"Well, yeah, a bit," he says lamely.

Nine chuckles, his heavy boots sounding on the console floor, "Yeah well…we have loads to talk about."

The Doctor stares at him, nervously.

"Got any tea?"

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_I know they're short, but they're meant to be sweet and drawn out. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you all for the help and encouragement. I appreciate every bit of it. _

_

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**Borrowed Time**

"You know, for a bloke who can never shut it, you sure are quiet," chirps Nine, drinking from his old black mug, filled to the top with tea. He lets the liquid drown in his mouth, savoring the taste he had been missing. "Rose always did know how to make a great cup of tea."

The Doctor looks up at him from his own brown mug and nods silently.

After a moment of silence, Nine can't take it anymore.

"Now then, onto business."

The Doctor stares at him, nerves bundling up in the pit of his stomach, "What about?" he asks.

Nine glares at him. "About Rose."

He can feel his hearts stopping. "What about her." It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

Nine visibly attempts to control his temper. He always did have a problem with that…

He starts, "Look, nothing is going to happen to Rose…well, not yet anyway."

The Doctor nearly jumps out of his seat at the words. "What are you talking about? What's going to happen to Rose?" the words rush out of his mouth.

Nine stares at him, sadness in his eyes. Sadness for himself and his future. "Nothing as of yet…but you and I both know they never last."

The Doctor can feel his hearts breaking at the words he knows all too well. "Rose said she'd stay forever," he knows his words sound foolish, childish even, but he wants to believe them so badly.

Nine looks at him with pain in his eyes. "She said that?" the words break, his gray blue eyes are shining with unshed tears. The Doctor can feel his hearts melt at the feeling he recognizes all too well.

"Yeah," he says, confirming what they both feel, "she told us that."

Nine merely nods, adjusting to the words.

"Still," he continues, "even if she wants forever…she can't have our forever."

The Doctor nods solemnly, knowing full well the meaning of his words.

"And so, this is why you can't let this go on…" he trails off.

He looks up at Nine just then, glaring hatred in his eyes towards his past. "Oh, yeah? **You** got to have her first! You even got to…" he refuses to end the sentence, knowing that finishing it will mean…

"Hey!" cries Nine, "calm down! That's not what I'm saying. I would NEVER tell you to leave her behind. Idiot. Worse than Rickey, you are…"

The Doctor chuckles, suddenly amused, "Well, thanks for that."

Nine joins his laughter after awhile. "Look, that's never what I meant. What I meant to say was, you can't keep lying to yourself or to her. She needs to know. And you need to let yourself feel it."

He stares at him, fully aware of what he's talking about, but not wanting to declare it so. "No," he simply says.

Nine shakes his head. "You don't understand how it feels."

The Doctor pushes himself away from the table, unable to stay still for what he feels will be his undoing.

"You need to hear this," says Nine calmly.

"No, I don't."

"She was right you know. We are stubborn."

That simple sentence, finally broke the Doctor.

"Stop talking about her like that! Stop it! She's not yours, she was never yours, she will **NEVER **be yours!" he cries.

Nine sets down his mug, looking up at the current Doctor, the pity ever existent in his cloudy eyes.

"Yeah. But you want her to be."

* * *

_I must be honest and say that this is my favorite part of this story. Breaks my heart really. Hope you enjoyed reading :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't have much to say today actually. Too tired. Hope you're all liking the story :)_

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**Borrowed Time**

The Doctor stares down at Nine, silently pleading with him to disappear. It would make everything so much easier. He can't let it linger…

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Nine gets up from the table suddenly, looking at the Doctor sternly and walks past him down the corridor. The Doctor, unsure of what is happening, follows Nine down the hall worriedly, his trainers thumping against the Tardis floor. He notices that Nine walks past Rose's door, consciously avoiding it. He does the same.

He finally heads into the library, where Nine has taken seat at the large green couch. The Doctor sits across from him in the worn-out blue armchair. The Tardis, happy to see her former Doctor, closes off the room, soundproofing it in the process.

Nine stares up at the ceiling, "Thanks ol' girl." The Tardis hums happily.

"Traitor," whispers the Doctor.

"Oi! None of that…we're the same person, you and I."

The Doctor remains quiet, waiting for Nine to make the first move.

"Like I was sayin', you need to tell her. You don't know what it feels like to lose her," his eyes gleam with hurt.

"I'm _not_ going to lose her." He says it matter-of-factly.

Nine sighs. "You _think _you're not going to lose her. And maybe you won't…but someday…you will. You know what I mean." He doesn't say this harshly, in fact, his voice breaks at the admittance.

The Doctor remains silent. He knows all too well the worry that comes with caring about Rose. The thought of losing her, indefinitely, stills his hearts.

"You don't know how it feels."

The Doctor looks at Nine as he finishes his declaration. His own hearts hurt as he looks at the former Doctor. He looks so broken.

"You keep saying that," states the Doctor, "but you forget that I am you, I have your memories…I know how it feels."

Nine shakes his head before the words are finished out of his mouth.

"No," he says, slight anger seeping through his words, "you don't."

He says it with such a sense of finality that it causes the Doctor to look at him with wide eyes.

He continues, "You feel a ghost of what it really felt like…you don't feel the impact. Don't you wonder why you're so afraid of losing her? It's because of how I felt when I _did _lose her."

They remain silent for a moment. Neither quite ready to cross this line.

But ultimately, one has to cross it.

Nine looks back across to the Doctor, "You know, when I saved her that first time…I didn't think much of the situation…we save people, right? No big deal. But then I met her a second time, what are the odds?" He chuckles, reminiscing.

The Doctor remains silent, knowing very well the chances of such a happenstance.

"And then she went and saved me."

The Doctor nods, staring at a spot on the rug. "She's still doing it."

"Yeah. She does it best." Nine remains quiet for a moment, composing himself. "She wasn't supposed to be who she turned out to be. She wasn't supposed to be special."

"But she is," finishes the Doctor looking up at him, without missing a beat.

Nine's eyes glaze with tears that refuse to fall.

"Yes. She is."

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_I'm a sucker for bittersweet nostalgia. I miss Nine, what can I say?_


	5. Chapter 5

_I've decided to post the rest of the story today. I hope you all enjoy that. I won't be posting for at least two days in order to give myself time to organize some other stuff I've already written :) Thank you so much for the encouragement and reviews! You are all the best :)_

_

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_**Borrowed Time**

"So why are you here?" he asks exasperatedly.

Nine looks up at him, an accusing look in his eye.

"To get you to do the one thing that scares you. Because you owe it to yourself and, more importantly, you owe it to her."

The Doctor panics at his past self's words.

"I can't. You know we can't." His words sound heavy with defeat.

Nine sighs. "Says who? Seems like you've kept all my worries, but none of the lessons."

The Doctor hates hearing the superiority in his voice. But he knows it's true.

"You need to tell her how you feel. That you _love _her. That she's important. And you need to do it now, before it's too late." He says it desperately, wanting the Doctor to understand the urgency.

He can feel his nerves tingling, the panic shoving up his throat.

"I don't love her. Not like that." He swallows the lie.

Nine chuckles darkly, humorlessly. "Sure you don't."

The Doctor glares at him, irritated at his tone. "Oh, because you were so talkative when you were with her?"

Nine grows silent, and then looks up at the Doctor with a look that terrifies him distantly.

"Why do you think I'm here? Because I couldn't..."

Then, if the Doctor hadn't been staring at him so intently, he never would have noticed it, a lone tear escaped the stormy eyes of the former Time Lord before he briskly swiped it away.

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_That was a short one I know, but that's why I posted twice! Thanks for reading :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Here's the end :( Sad. I miss Nine so very much. I love Ten too, of course. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. This story was never meant to be long and drawn out btw :) Thank you all for the reviews and comments and help. Always appreciated!_

_

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_**Borrowed Time**

Although long gone, the tear unnerved the Doctor. _We don't cry,_ he thinks, _we never cry. We move on._

Exasperated, Nine jumps up and paces around the library. "Well, some rules are made to be broken. We've broken every other rule, why not these, huh? And STOP thinking at me."

The Doctor's eyes widen. What had happened to him?

Nine stops his pacing so that he's facing the Doctor. "You've never loved someone the way you love her. And it breaks your hearts that you can't keep her forever. And see, that would be fine if she didn't love you back. But she does."

The Doctor takes a sharp intake of breath, stinging his throat. Finally, in a whisper, he says, "You can't know that."

He laughs, a loud sound in the silent room. "I was more blind than I thought." He sits down, still facing the Doctor. "Just because I'm not here running around wearing this daft, old face, saving the world along side her doesn't mean I don't exist. I see everything. I feel everything. And she loves no one more than she loves you."

A hard swallow encompasses the Doctor's throat. He knew she did, deep down in that place he always tries to ignore, he knew she loves him. He could see it in her eyes, feel it in her touch.

"Loves _us_, you mean."

Nine smiles gently, silently thanking him.

The Doctor hesitates at his next thought, knowing the consequences.

"If I tell her, if I show it in anyway…it'll change everything…" Nine stares at him, uncharacteristically waiting for the rest. "…and I'll have to lose her, even if eventually, she'll leave me. I…I can't…"

"You will. And you'll move on. But give her this. Give yourself this…please…just this once…" he pleads.

The Doctor stares at him in amazement. "Did you just say 'please'?"

Nine smiles, a large grin on his time torn face. "Funny, the things you learn from those stupid apes."

Then suddenly, the former Doctor rises from his seat, his smile fading from his lips. Simultaneously, the Tardis returns the library back to normal, sensing her past Doctor's sudden need. Knowing the Doctor will follow, Nine walks out of the library and down the corridor. He walks silently, his heavy boots falling lightly on the Tardis floor.

They finally come to a stop at the doorway of that room…that fateful room. He opens the door gently as not to wake her. Nine leans against the doorway, crossing his arms across his chest as he stares down at his companion…his wonderful companion. _I miss her so much_, he thinks. He feels the Doctor behind him, silently looking in as well. Nine wants to walk into the room, kneel beside her and feel her hair between his fingers. His thoughts return to that kiss they shared. That last kiss…

"You know," the Doctor whispers, "the telepathy works both ways." His voice sounds hard and accusing.

Nine winces, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to…"

"Was it nice? I'd imagine it was nice." Memories worked both ways after all, just like he could ghostly remember the feeling of losing her, quite unfairly, he could also ghostly remember the feel of his lips on hers. He'd felt them since then, of course, but never again like that. Not by his own choice.

Nine continues staring at Rose, her hair spread around her. "It was more than nice."

The Doctor nods solemnly if only slightly jealous.

Feeling his phantom hearts breaking, Nine turns around, bumping into the Doctor and walks briskly to the console room. The Doctor, detesting the whiplash of his former self's actions, takes one last look at Rose's sleeping form before following him.

***

"What happens…if I _don't_ tell her?" he questions.

Nine turns to him from the spot he'd been standing, unmoving for the last few moments. "Technically? Absolutely nothing. But you'll regret it. And to live as long as we do…we can't exactly afford that sort of regret."

The Doctor frowns, "But the pain of losing her…it would hurt a lot worse."

Nine merely shrugs. "But at least you could say she was yours for a little while."

The Doctor looks up at him then, as if he had just told him the secrets of the universe and then some through that simple logic that the Doctor had all but ignored.

Nine smiles at him, happily accepting that he's finally realizing it. "You're not stupid, so don't act like it mate." His smile fades slightly, heartbreak shining in his eyes, "Show her, tell her…_whatever_…because she needs you to. Let yourself feel it…because _you_ need _her_."

And as quickly as he had appeared, Nine simply vanished.

The Doctor stares in disbelief at the emptiness of the console room. He doesn't know how it happened or if it had happened at all, really. But the feeling was there. And that was all he needed.

He walks slowly to her room, softly opening the door to her gentle snores that make him chuckle. Without hesitation, he walks toward her sleeping form, allowing himself to sit quietly on the edge of her bed. He's sitting close to her, so close that all he has to do is move an inch and he'd be touching his knee to her leg. He doesn't dare move, however, for the fear of waking her. Truth be told, if Jackie slapping him wasn't frightening enough, a just-woken-up-grumpy-Rose was down right petrifying. So instead he enjoys the warmth of her presence and decides to be the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes.

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_How much do I wish he would have just said _something _to her? Now, do I know what he was gonna tell her at the end my story? Or how he was gonna tell her, I should say. No, I purposely didn't write anything coming from Rose's POV because this was more for the Doctor's sake. Someone needed to tell him _something_, you know? Oh well, just my ramblings. Hope you liked :)_


End file.
